Luanda, July 28, 2025 (Lusa) - Barricades, burning tyres, looting and vandalised vehicles marked the start of a strike on Monday in the Angolan capital by private taxi drivers, who condemned the vandalism and criticised the increase in fuel prices.
On the day that the ‘blue and whites’ (minibus taxis), as they are known, decided not to colour the roads of Luanda and other provinces of the country, the first of three days of a "peaceful stoppage" called by taxi drivers' associations was marked by acts of vandalism in various neighbourhoods of the Angolan capital.
From the early hours of today, several citizens complained of difficulties in getting around and reaching their workplaces due to the lack of taxis. Many even had to walk long distances and others had to wait for more than three hours at bus stops, as Lusa found.
All along Avenida Fidel de Castro, the road to Viana, at kilometre 30, in the district of Cacuaco, in the Camama and Calemba 2 area, a considerable number of people could be seen at bus stops, while others walked due to the lack of transport.
At public transport stops, the demand for buses more than doubled. Paixão Mateus had been waiting for more than three hours for a taxi to take him to work. "I've been here [at the bus stop] for over three hours because there are no taxis and no [public] buses. The ones that do show up are already full, and right now I'm here undecided because I work in Benfica and I'm in danger of missing work," the 37-year-old carpenter told Lusa, taking the opportunity to protest the increase in fuel prices.
Vítor Miguel, 25, said he woke up at 5 a.m. to get to work early, but the taxi strike forced him to walk from Viana to Zango, lamenting the disruption on the road and the increase in taxi fares.
"I'm already late and it's going to be a very difficult day. (...) I think I'll sleep at work and I have no way of getting home," he lamented.
In the Calemba 2 area, in the district of Camama, in the Campos Universitário region, the entire length of Rua 11 de Novembro, a commercial area with heavy traffic, was blocked with barricades made of rubbish bins, broken trees and burnt tyres.
In that area, groups of citizens and motorcycle taxi drivers prevented vehicles from circulating, with barricades and even scenes of aggression against those who were driving their vehicles, which mobilised the presence of police officers to restore order and calm the situation, but without success.
It was on the same street that some vehicles were vandalised and warehouses and supermarkets were looted by the public. The situation caused chaos and even protests by many passers-by and residents in the area. The police intervened with gunfire to disperse the crowd, but the small number of officers was unable to stop the fury of the crowd.
Antónia Jorge, who was travelling through Calemba 2, condemned the vandalism of a supermarket in that area, which she said she had witnessed since 9 a.m.
“They vandalised and beat up the employees. This is unacceptable. This is theft, vandalism (...). The strike is by the taxi drivers. What does the people have to do with it? The market has nothing to do with it. Why do they have to steal from the shop? This is wrong. The police can do whatever they want, even if they fire shots, they are not going to run away,” she said.
Unable to reach his place of work, Nsimba Martins, 38, decided to walk home, but found his progress blocked when he reached Rua 11 de Novembro and came across barricades on the road.
"All the streets are closed here in Calemba 2. I managed to leave the house, but I'm coming back because I won't be able to get to work as there are no taxis. The road is completely closed, they've set tyres on fire," he said.
Valéria Daniel, a 22-year-old unemployed woman, justified the “revolt” of citizens in that district of Camama as a measure to "demand" that the authorities back down on fuel price rises, which are making life more expensive for families.
The people "are very angry, (...) taxi fares have to come down because petrol is leaving our country. The people are really suffering, there are people who don't work, many women are turning to prostitution because they don't have jobs," she lamented.
Some petrol stations were also vandalised, and there are reports of spontaneous demonstrations in various parts of Luanda, including by motorcycle taxi drivers, who arrived in groups near the Luanda government headquarters but were stopped by the police after shots were fired.
Speaking to Lusa, taxi driver Joaquim Catimba, who, together with his colleagues in the district of Viana, decided to down tools in support of the strike, recalled that the strike, which is expected to continue until Wednesday, is a protest against the increase in fuel prices and new taxi fares, as well as a demand for more respect for the profession.
Catimba called on the Angolan government to review fuel prices and also criticised some of his colleagues who decided to ‘break’ the strike.
DAS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
